Without a Sun
by Volcanic Lily
Summary: "Diamond and Pearl Adventure!" manga fanfiction.  Hareta is going away on a quest for new adventures, but Mitsumi doesn't know if she can handle losing him.   And Jun- being... well, Jun- tries to cheer her up.  Jun/Mitsumi.  My first-ever Pokemon fanfic!


**A/N: Hola! This is my first Pokemon fanfic, so... I hope you all enjoy! (Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. *sob*)**

Mitsumi wasn't the type of young woman who burst into tears on a regular basis. She would rather try to remain strong and stoic, even when she felt, on the inside, like everything was falling apart at the seams.

It was all because of Hareta's stupid desire for new adventures. That was what was causing the younger boy to pack up his things (mostly pointless shiny knickknacks) and just leave. Leave _her_, who had come to depend on his perpetual optimistic smile like it was the sun in her sky.

Everyone, it seemed, had come to help sent him off- Professor Rowan, all of Sinnoh's gym leaders, former Team Galactic commander Mars, and, of course, Jun, who would never miss a chance to say goodbye to his rival- and if he just so happened to flirt with Mitsumi a bit while he was there, then that was just a bonus.

Currently, Hareta was saying goodbye to the last of the gym leaders.

"Farewell, Hareta," Candice said as she shook his hand.

"Don't forget our training," Byron boomed, while beside him, Roark nodded his goodbye.

Maylene hugged the boy and exclaimed, "Bye, Hareta! Don't forget us!"

"I won't!" Hareta grinned at her.

And as she watched it all from a few paces back, near to Professor Rowan, Mitsumi felt her heart sink even lower. There was that smile again. Hareta could be rather annoying sometimes, but she had to admit that the boy had come to mean a lot to her. And without him, she wasn't sure how she was going to make it. Her world would just seem empty.

Finally, Hareta approached her and Professor Rowan, still beaming as he chirped, "I'll miss you, Gramps! You too, sis!"

Mitsumi froze, her mouth halfway open to utter a goodbye. Instead, she dumbly repeated, "Sis?"

He grinned. "Yup! You're my big sister, Mitsumi! At least, you are now, or that's what I think!"

_So… he thinks of me as an older sister?_ It was such a sweet thing to say that she had trouble keeping up the walls that kept the floodwaters from rushing out. It was nice to know he felt that way about her. But why did he have to tell her this _now_, when he was leaving her?

Mitsumi felt an arm around her, and there was Jun, saying to Hareta, "But _I'm _not related to you, right? 'Cause then, I couldn't be with Mitsumi."

_SMACK!_ Mitsumi removed him arm with some unnecessary force. At least it took her mind off of Hareta's leaving for a brief moment.

Hareta shrugged his shoulders. "Well, really, I'd better get going. I want to be somewhere far-off and new by tonight! Catch you guys later!"

And just like that, he was clambering onto the back of his faithful Pokemon and disappearing out of her life. Mitsumi wanted to run after him, exclaim, "Take me with you, Hareta!"

But she didn't. She just stood there, staring after the boy as he rode off into the midday sky- a sky that still had its sun, as opposed to hers.

How could he _do_ this to her? How could that idiot be so selfish? Could he not see the way his constant, obnoxious cheer always managed to make her day? Or how he had made her a better person? How could he walk into her life- or, more accurately, almost trample her to death- and bond with her over their many adventures, change her into the kind of person she could actually like, call her his sister, and then just _abandon_ her like this?

A solitary tear paved a trail down her cheek, the first of the raindrops that were bound to fall in a world without a sun. Absently, she raised a hand to wipe it away.

But that hand was caught by another's. Blinking in a vain effort to make those stupid tears vanish, Mitsumi turned, already knowing who it was.

"L-let go, Jun." Ugh, she hated the way her voice failed her as she spoke what should have been an angry demand. Instead, it sounded like a tearful, insincere plea.

And he took it that way, shaking his head and grinning at her. As another unwanted teardrop slipped down the side of Mitsumi's face, she cringed. Why did she suddenly have to be so weak?

Now, Jun's smile disappeared. "Come on, Mitsumi, don't cry. I hate seeing people sad, but then, it makes your eyes seem all bright and pretty, and it makes me feel really conflicted!"

Mitsumi's eyes narrowed. "Is there something you want?"

"Yep!" he said, grinning again. "And that would be y…"

She quickly cut him off. "I'll rephrase that. Do you have something important to say, or are you just here to annoy me?"

"I don't want to annoy you," he said (with what she found to be a very annoying expression). "I just don't want you to be sad!"

Mitsumi glanced over at the others. Professor Rowan was holding a conversation with Mars, while the gym leaders were standing in a circle, looking especially downcast.

She looked back at Jun. "Well, you're not helping." She glowered at him, finally remembering to snatch her arm away. "And I'll take my hand back!"

"I'm gonna miss him, too, you know," Jun said after a long pause. "What exactly are you worried about?"

She shrugged, staring off in the direction Hareta had gone. "I don't know. It's just that he can be so _reckless_ sometimes. He never thinks about his actions, he just goes running headfirst into trouble all the time."

"Yeah," he said with a nod of his blonde head. "But the kid can take care of himself. He's tough." He flashed another smile. "He _is_ my rival, you know."

Mitsumi rolled her eyes. "He's _incapable_ of caring for himself. He doesn't know a PokeMart from a public house."

"I don't know. I'm getting the feeling that it's _you_ who needs taking care of."

"Jun, just shut…!"

This time, it was he who interrupted her. "You aren't getting out of having dinner with me this time."

"I don't think…!"

"I'm not taking no for an answer."

"But I really…!"

"I really like to think of myself as the kind of guy who's rude to a lady, but right now, it's necessary."

"No, it's n…!"

Jun sighed amusedly and shook his head. "You can't just stand here crying over Hareta. That wouldn't make him too thrilled, and I'm pretty sure you know it."

Mitsumi stopped short, her mouth falling open into a small "O." Because, as hard as she found it to believe, he had a point. Hareta _hated_ it when people were upset, and he would surely not like it if he knew that she was miserable just because he was going off to look for new adventures.

Unwillingly, her eyes flooded again. She felt like there was this huge, gaping hole in her chest where her heart had been. Her heart that had belonged to Hareta- not romantically, but in a weird, sisterly way, because deep down, she had always thought of him as a brother, too. And now, she just couldn't get him out of her mind.

Or, she couldn't- until, without warning, a pair of lips collided with hers with a determined force that blew her away.

_What…? What on Earth does he think he's…?_

Ugh, she couldn't even get through a complete thought like this. Her mind was spinning far too fast for that. All she could think about was the safe feeling of Jun's arms around her and the warmth of the sun beating down on her face.

Until, that is, a loud whistle pierced the air, causing Mitsumi to come back to her senses and pull away from Jun, her cheeks involuntarily turning scarlet. Maylene- the whistler- was crossing her arms and smirking smugly at the two, and the other gym leaders, Mars, and Professor Rowan were staring, too.

Hurriedly, Mitsumi forced a glare at Jun and snapped, "Keep your hands off me!"

Jun's face fell- not that she cared, she insisted to herself. Eventually, the gawkers turned back to their conversations again (although Mitsumi suspected that at least one of those conversations somehow involved her and Jun).

She looked back at him again. He looked sad and dismayed, and this time, she couldn't honestly convince herself that she didn't feel a slight bit of pity for him.

Glancing around a couple of times, Mitsumi took the few steps over to him, put a hand gingerly on his shoulder, and leaned in to whisper, "Fine, but you'd better pay for dinner, all right?"

He grinned. "Of course!"

And although they pretended not to pay attention, no one missed the sight of Hareta's "sister" and his rival slipping away on the back of Jun's Dragonite.

**A/N: Hope you liked it! Feel free to review! I don't mind criticism, as long as it's constructive! :)**

**~Lily**


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